Finke urges Cameroon to earn redemption

Cameroon coach Volker Finke has told his players to earn redemption against Brazil following a dismal FIFA World Cup campaign.

Finke’s men started poorly with a 1-0 defeat to Mexico, a loss which could have been far worse after Giovani dos Santos was denied a first-half penalty and saw two goals harshly disallowed for offside.

The coach demanded a response for their second match against Croatia, but his side put in an even worse display, losing 4-0 to the Europeans.

However, the loss is more likely to be remembered for two moments of petulance from Cameroon players, as Alex Song first received a red card for bizarrely hacking Mario Mandzukic down with an elbow to the back, before Benoit Assou-Ekotto tried to headbutt team-mate Benjamin Moukandjo.

Despite disappointing in general, Finke does not want those to be the reasons Cameroon are remembered for at the tournament and he urged his players to impress against Brazil.

“The third game is special, in some ways,” he told reporters.

“It is impossible to leave the World Cup with everyone having the impression that the level of Cameroon is what we showed against Mexico and Croatia.

“This is our motivation to prove that we can do more

“I do not think we came to Brazil as favourites, but like all teams we also dreamed of a good World Cup.

“Dreaming is part of football. We were unable to qualify, but we will try to have a good farewell.”